The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public corporation and charter school system comprising 13 Maryland institutions of higher education. It is the 12th largest university system in the United States. In 1988 it was created from the merger of the five University of Maryland institutions and the six members of the State University and College System of Maryland under the name University of Maryland System. In 1997 its name was changed to the University System of Maryland. In 1999 the Maryland General Assembly transformed the system to the charter model.

The merger creating the University of Maryland System was directed by governor Donald Schaefer and overseen by University of Maryland President John S. Toll, who then became the system's first Chancellor.

System Members

Universities

• Bowie State University
• Coppin State University
• Frostburg State University
• Salisbury University
• Towson University
• University of Baltimore
• University of Maryland, Baltimore
• University of Maryland Baltimore County
• University of Maryland, College Park (the flagship campus)
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• University of Maryland University College

Centers and Institutes

• University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
• University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute

Satellite Campuses

• Universities at Shady Grove
• University System of Maryland at Hagerstown

Relationships With Other Schools

When USM was originally formed in 1988, Maryland's other two state-funded 4-year institutions (Morgan State University and St. Mary's College of Maryland) opted out of the system and made separate funding arrangements with the state.

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, although state-supported, remained outside the system because of its unique status as an institution jointly funded by Maryland and Virginia. It is a constituent of both the College Park campus and Virginia Tech, with its main campus at Virginia Tech.

The USM institutions with the words "University of Maryland" in their names are not satellite campuses of the University of Maryland, College Park, and are not referred to as such.

External links

• University System of Maryland